Another explosion of black fumes missed me by a few hairs as I raced along Belphegor’s back. The ghosts continued to rise from the dying body, but they didn’t attack me. They hovered in the sky and swayed in the wind. At the end of my run, I reached Belphegor’s horns and found Faust on the ground in front of me.

“No one got what they wanted,” Faust said. “The cultists did not fulfill their dream. The townspeople did not burn the witch. Belphegor did not conquer a single city. It is rather comical.”

I remained wary of his presence but didn’t attack.

He continued, “But you should know. When I first summoned Belphegor, I didn’t ask for the guild’s destruction. I asked for Serena.”

Belphegor’s body disintegrated with a sudden blast. The black fumes escaped in one burst, and the demonic ghosts appeared in thousands. I fell to the ground and stood face to face with Faust. The demons spun around us. Their movements formed a tornado that isolated us from the world, and we stood in the middle of this vortex as the wind buffeted us from all directions.

“After I spent so much effort to revive the cult and keep them in check, this Great Creator told me he could not bring my daughter back,” Faust said as the demons wheeled in the sky. “But he said he could help me with my revenge.”

“It’s too late to defend your actions.”

“You misunderstood,” Faust said. “I am not trying to excuse my deeds. I am recounting the details of my bargains because I want you to know the truth. I toyed with some people, and I was manipulated by others. That was the life that I chose.”

“You should surrender,” I said. “Appear in court, and receive your due punishment.”

“I cannot go anywhere now,” Faust laughed. “My fate is sealed.”

“What do you mean?”

“You will die, Lance. The two of us will die here,” Faust smiled sadly. “I was a different man once, but the guild did this to me.”

The demons descended from the sky and began to enter his body.

“No, you did this to yourself,” I said. “You sealed your fate with your own hands.”

“Did I kill Serena? Did I deny the accusations? Did I pretend to be remorseful when I did not even care?” he shouted as the demons addled his brain. “I wanted to see her smile again. Everything became meaningless after she left me. None of my sons could replace her. I sent them all away. I could not bear their sight when Serena was not among them.”

“You’re not the first or last person to lose someone close.” I raised my sword in preparation for the fight. “When we lose someone, we honor their memory. But you… you forgot how much Serena loved Ashenbrook. You destroyed the very thing that your daughter cherished, and you tried to take revenge on the people who cared for her, like Reinfried.”

“Shut up! You would never understand,” Faust shouted. His eyes turned crimson, and black vein-like marks spread on his body. “The pain is unbearable.”

“Then why did you cause it to others? Why did you kill the travelers? Why did you destroy Ashenbrook? Why were you trying to destroy Azuria? You didn’t lose your daughter, Faust. You lost your mind.”

He smiled as tears fell from his crimson eyes. His hands transformed into claws, and horns grew out of his head. A pair of torn wings shot out of his back. His feet rose from the ground, and he floated in the air like a hanged man. I was now trapped in the tornado with another monster.

He looks a bit like Belphegor. I should be careful.

As I planned my next move, Faust disappeared. A moment ago, he was in front of me, but now, he was gone. Before I could locate him, a claw landed against my back and ripped through my clothes and skin.

What’s this speed? It’s as if he teleported behind me.

I fell on the ground but got up without delay. I turned to intercept Faust’s next strike. I blocked his claws twice with my sword before he knocked me back. His movements would always start slow, but then he would accelerate to astonishing speeds.

Even after knocking me back, he didn’t stop. He chased after me and left hundreds of small cuts on my body. None of my defensive moves worked. In the end, he grabbed my feet and threw me on the ground. My body slid until it came to a painful stop in the dirt.

He’s too fast, but I might be able to use his speed against him.

I stood up, lured him close, and thrust my sword at his heart. He couldn’t stop in time to avoid the blade, but a third arm extended out of his body and parried the blow. A fourth, a fifth, and a sixth followed. He became a fiend with eight limbs, all bony and thin, all originating in his grimy torso. I deflected one claw, but then another five reached for me simultaneously. Most of them left only superficial cuts. The last, however, grabbed my neck.

“Aargh!”

I hung in the air, and the claw began to choke me. While I was struggling and squirming, I heard Faust’s voice in my head. He said: “I will not tolerate this, Azemir. Your boy killed her. Use whichever euphemism you want. Call it an accident; call it a misfortune. But it was outright murder!”

Faust’s claw relaxed a bit, and I used this chance to grab it with my hands. I buried my fingernails into his skin and wounded his arm with my desperate scratching. Black fumes rose in the air, and as I absorbed them, Faust began to revert to a human. His horns shortened. The extra arms receded into his body. I was close to erasing his demonic powers, but he tossed me away.

Getting up after the painful fall, I watched hundreds of demonic ghosts descend from the sky. They floated around Faust and then disappeared inside his body. The scratch wounds healed, and his horns elongated. Even the arms that had vanished regrew.

So, this is how it works. I took this chance to catch my breath. I should drain Faust’s power just as I did with the giant Belphegor.

I arrived at the answer, but Faust didn’t give me time to act. As soon as he recovered, he teleported again. I turned around just in time to block his attack. My sword absorbed the blow and then cut the side of his body. A deep wound opened, and the black fumes erupted. I heard Faust’s voice in my head again: “You say it has been five years, Wilhelm, but five years since what? My daughter did not die. Serena is hiding somewhere; she is afraid of being hurt again. I need to find her. I need to save her.”

The voice died out. Faust slashed at me with his claws. Then he retreated a few steps and prepared to absorb the demonic ghosts.

I won’t let you recover this time!

I stepped on the ground and then on his back and jumped to the sky. Meeting the ghosts in the middle of the air, I absorbed some of them and imprisoned them inside me. By the time I landed, the rest had fled back into the tornado. Having prevented Faust’s recovery, I turned around and charged at him. This time, however, he didn’t move: he waited patiently for me.

I have a bad feeling about this.

When I got close, he spread his arms wide, and a black gas gushed out of his fingers. Suddenly, I found myself trapped inside a smoke-like cloud. I tried to clear the air with the power of Void Mages, but it remained dark and dense.

This means trouble.

Suddenly, Faust’s crimson eyes shone in the dark. Claws reached for me from various directions. I controlled my breathing and used my ears to predict the attacks. Right. Left. Right. Above. Below. After blocking five consecutive blows, I was ready to counter-attack. Spotting the crimson eyes, I spun around and kicked Faust in the face. I knocked him to the ground and pounced on him before he could move. While his many limbs twisted and wriggled, I managed to cut his shoulder and placed my left hand on the wound.

“You are right, Wilhelm,” his voice echoed in my head again. “I revived the cult, but I do not believe in their dream. What is the use of power if you have no one to protect? What are the riches of the labyrinth worth if you have no one to spend them on? But if granting the cult’s foolish dreams can help me bring back Serena, then I will be their savior.”

I pushed my hand harder against his wound.

“She is the daughter of the innkeeper. The peasants are planning to kill her soon, but I cannot let that happen. You will kidnap her, Fergus. Bring her to the Hall. She will become one of my children.”

Faust’s skin began to burn.

“She escaped? But how? She could not have resisted the demons. Unless she… unless she had a charm. But where on earth did she find one? Why does this always happen? Now I can only watch as the peasants kill her…”

Faust roared like an animal. He grabbed my clothes and tossed me away. I landed on the ground, got up slowly, and looked at him after the smoke-like cloud disappeared. His face was half-human, half-demonic.

“My fate is sealed, Lance,” the human half cried.

“Surrender, Kenos Vir,” the demonic half said.

“I told you we are both destined to die here,” the human half said. “I pledged my body and soul to Belphegor. He said that he will collect his payment when my revenge is complete—or when I fail. He will use me to stay in this realm.”

“It is not late, Kenos Vir,” the demonic half said. “Become my new servant. I will let you live and then feast on Faust’s soul in the Maida.”

“Listen.” I cut a strip of fabric from my clothes and wrapped it around one of my bleeding wounds, pulling it tight with my teeth. “You two have no place in this world anymore. I’ll send you both to the Maida.”

In response to my words, bubbles appeared on Faust’s skin as if he had been boiling on the inside. Like an unstoppable deluge, all the demons descended from the sky. Faust’s body absorbed the tornado that had raged around us. Then it morphed into Belphegor’s final form.